Monday, June 7, 2010

With all the news of the latest series of Doctor Who, everyone was wondering what became of the show's hit spin-off, Torchwood, which only returned for a short, but fantastic, mini-series last year, Torchwood: Children of Earth. Heck, even the other Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, has got news of a fourth series, so it's about time we're hearing about Torchwood.

Well, it seems that the rumors of an American based Torchwood were real, sort of. Thankfully it's NOT going to be an Americanized version for Fox, because obviously someone at the BBC or Fox realized that didn't work out for Doctor Who back in 1996, when the Eighth Doctor's only appearance in a TV movie failed to interest American audiences.

"BBC Cymru Wales, BBC Worldwide and US premium entertainment network, Starz Entertainment, have today announced a three way co-production partnership that will develop a new series of the hit BBC sci-fi drama Torchwood. BBC Worldwide will also distribute the series to broadcasters globally.

The 10-episode instalment will be written by a team led by Torchwood creator, Russell T Davies, and produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Davies and BBC Worldwide Productions’ SVP Scripted, Julie Gardner, return as executive producers with BBC Worldwide Productions EVP Jane Tranter. The series has been commissioned by Controller BBC ONE, Jay Hunt, Controller BBC Drama, Ben Stephenson, and Starz President and CEO, Chris Albrecht.

While previous series were based on location in Cardiff, Wales, this new instalment will see storylines widen to include locations in the U.S. and around the world. John Barrowman and Eve Myles will return in their roles as Captain Jack and Gwen respectively, along with new faces."

So it's a bit hard to tell whether or not this new series will air on BBC America or Starz here in the US, being that BBC America currently has the US broadcast rights for Torchwood, but I'll safely assume that it will air on BBC One in the UK as if it were another regular series of Torchwood.

But at least this should please Russel T. Davies fans that still haven't warmed up to the excellent job Steven Moffat has done with the latest series of Doctor Who. Plus, as I mentioned the Sarah Jane Adventures earlier, Russel T. Davies will be writing an episode of that series that will feature Matt Smith's Doctor, so it seems that Mr. Davies hasn't completely left Doctor Who behind after all.